"Improving water productivity and enhancing livelihood of water stress community"
(Society for Integrated Land & Water Management (SOFILWM)Approach)

Society for Integrated Land & Water Management (SOFILWM) is a Palanpur based professional agency working for integrated land and water management in arid and semi arid regions of Gujarat. The organization has been established as a nodal agency for ground water management by Sir Ratan Tata Trust. International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is providing technical support and guidance to achieve the mission of organization. SOFILWM is currently working in 400 villages of North Gujarat in partnership with some local grassroots non government organisation towards sustainability of groundwater resource use. In the third phase of our project, we want to cover as many as small and marginal farmers by water saving technologies and promote adoption of high value horticultural crops and modern farming techniques.

Goal:
Promote strategies for sustainable groundwater management in arid and semi arid regions of India that help improve groundwater balance, with no adverse impacts on farming and rural livelihoods.

Objectives:
The four major objectives of the new organization would be:
A) Design economically viable and ecologically sustainable models of farming systems for introduction in north Gujarat and other semi arid and regions of India, including those which poor farmers can adopt; and field test them in selected areas
B) Facilitate large-scale implementation of these models in selected regions, with the involvement of grass root developmental organizations, and government agencies/programmes;
C) Analyze the short-term and long-term impacts of these interventions on groundwater resources and communities, and overall developmental outcomes;
D) Document and disseminate the knowledge gained from the programme implementation vis-à-vis the techno-economic viability of the interventions, and their overall effectiveness for the benefit of larger constituency of stakeholders;

Our Core Activities:
1) Promoting Water Saving Technologies (Drip, Sprinkler, Mulching & Soil Moisture Sensor) 2) Promoting Organic Farming (Vermi & Improved Composting, Bio & Vermi Wash) 3) Promoting High Value Crops (Pomegranate, Papaya, Watermelon, Potato & Chilli) 4) Facilitating Agri-Horti Extension Activities & Exposure Visits (Agro Advisory Services, Awareness Campaigns, Cross Visit, Inter & Outer States Visit) 5) Training & Demonstration on High-tech Horticultural Technology (Net House, Green House, Poly House & Water Efficient Irrigation Technologies) 6) Research & Publication of Successful Technologies to Replicate in New Areas (New intervention in Rajasthan)

Achievements
The project is blowing winds of change in north Gujarat’s agricultural landscape. Nearly, 73,260 acres of irrigated crops have been brought under MI systems in just Banaskantha and Patan districts alone owing to various project interventions. In an area, where farmers used to grow traditional crops, around 1500 acres of land is under high valued orchard crops which are low-water consuming, mainly pomegranate. More than 2,000 farmers have taken up organic farming with vermi composting. The total farmer investment towards these was estimated to be around 250 crore rupees against a total investment by the project to the tune of 3.0 crore rupees.
The impacts of the project are quite sharp and visible. The introduction of high valued orchard crops with drip irrigation is found to be raising water productivity at least five times from nearly Rs. 6.88/m3 to Rs. 37 per m3. The use of micro irrigation devices in vegetables, and cash crops is also raising water productivity. The net incremental income from farming due to adoption of orchards with drip irrigation is in the range of Rs 5500 to Rs. 1, 20,000 per acre in a year. Use of vermi-culture and composting is not only improving the availability of quality manure for soil nutrient management, but also giving new opportunities for women farmers to earn income.
There are positive developmental outcomes of this project with the changes in farming system brought out through the introduction of new crop and irrigation technologies. With the use of efficient micro irrigation (MI) systems, the adopter farmers could cut down water use not only for every unit of land irrigated but also at the aggregate level. Their income from farming has increased substantially with the yield increase in existing crops and with adoption of high valued crops.